The UNOLS Council metadata subcommittee best practices

This note was emailed by Mike Prince, Executive Secretary, University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS), on Tuesday, May 2nd 2007. The UNOLS Council is soliciting volunteers from the community who would be interested in serving on a subcommittee to report to the UNOLS Council on current community- wide best practices for capture of data and metadata at sea. UNOLS Subcommittee to Report on Best Practices for the Collection of Data and Metadata at Sea to Promote Public Dissemination.

The Issue - Federally-funded investigators are increasingly being required to make their data available within prescribed time periods to the community at large. That community will likely expand from other researchers to include managers and the public. UNOLS should play a significant role in facilitating that dissemination by ensuring that the collection of the data, samples, and metadata at the shipboard end of the process is done in such a way as to efficiently and effectively promote the information dissemination in compliance with whatever policies might be established by the sponsoring agencies or other authorities (e.g., permitting agencies). Furthermore, early establishment of uniform UNOLS standards and formats for data dissemination might avoid the proliferation of multiple disparate national standards and formats for meeting foreign clearance conditions, as well as serve as a template for ocean observatories.

UNOLS Council Action – At the March 2007 meeting of the UNOLS Council, the decision was made to establish a subcommittee to report to the UNOLS Council on current community-wide best practices in terms of data and metadata capture when collecting data at sea. This subcommittee will be asked to refine their own charter in keeping with the issue as outlined above, and report back to Council with a brief White Paper on the subject within one year’s time. Volunteers to serve on the subcommittee are solicited from the community and agencies. Volunteers are asked to provide a brief description of their interest and experience. The UNOLS Chair will appoint the subcommittee from among the volunteers. An interim progress report will be expected at the October 2007 Council Meeting.